Darkness over Earthfall
by Secondhand Soul
Summary: "Once upon a time, in a place called the Destiny Islands, there lived a boy called Riku L'Belle…" Began the tale, offered as advice for the girl who was struggling with her own closed world. This is his story, the story of the Shadow. KH Novel-Riku ver.
1. Chapter 1

Darkness over Earthfall

Chapter 0

Stella's shoes slapped against the wooden planks of the dock, her dark brown hair rimmed in the fire orange glow of twilight. A few stray strands were caught and held by the breeze as she sat down, facing the blaze of the sun as it sank below the horizon, turning the golden sands into fiery crystals. Her eyes stared into the distance, unfocused even as she threw her sneakers and socks into the little wooden row boat she had taken out to the islet.

Her mind was back on Thallasa, the main island in the Destiny Archipelago, where her mother must sit at her desk, hunched over her keyboard as she e-mailed every relative and friend to inquire as to her teenaged daughter's whereabouts. She wouldn't find her. Stella had fled here knowing that this was the once place that her mother would never look; this place where her father was born, the place where she herself had spent the first few years of her life.

"You look lost."

The voice was deep, adult, and it startled Stella, who had assumed she was alone on the small islet. Adults weren't known to come here; even she knew that, and she hadn't been here since she was eight years old.

Turning her head, she found herself staring into a pair of eyes the same color as the ocean, that seamless blue-green, belonging to a man whose face was just starting to show the first signs of age. He was crouched beside her, his pale hair dyed cream sickle, a knowing expression on his full lips and in the lines of his face.

"I - I know where I am," she protested, backing away from him.

He drew away, his eyes frisking the ocean vista, "that may be so, but that doesn't mean that you're not lost. I've known my exact physical location plenty of times in my life and have had absolutely no idea where I am."

"Who are you?" she asked, feeling her brows furrow further as she crossed her arms over her chest in discomfort. "I didn't think any adults came here."

"You must not live on the island," he said, and she saw he was holding a saw in his right hand; had he been working on something here? "All the local kids know who I am, and I haven't seen you here before." He jumped off the wooden planks and onto the sand below, placing his equipment in a boat she hadn't noticed before, hidden in the shadow of the dock. "I'm Mr. Stuart, and I've taken it upon myself to look after this place. Who are _you_?"

"Uh, Stella Craft," she replied, seeing for the first time his longish hair, surprised by it; didn't old men have short hair (not that he was _that_ old)? "I came here from Thallasa."

"Hm," he pulled himself back up onto the dock and stood behind her, staring at her with an intense expression on his face. "Why did you come all the way out here from Thallasa? I didn't think big city kids would want to come out to the middle of nowhere. There's nothing out here worth mentioning, not when you have those big public beaches and cell phone reception."

"I don't know," she admitted, not sure why she was answering him. "I guess I just wanted to get away from my mother, but I'm beginning to wonder if this is _far _enough away. I wish I could just fly out beyond that horizon and never return. This place is so small, and no matter how far I run, I'll always see the beaches and the palm trees. I want bigger things. I want adventure. I want escape."

"Your life is really that bad?"

She looked at him, "my mother tries to control me! She thinks I'm a little princess that she can just manipulate, and its gotten worse and worse since my father died when I was nine. She dictates who I can see and when I can see them, what I wear, what I eat, and what I do for fun," she clenched her fists together, choking back tears. "But that's not _me_! I'm not a prissy girl, I'm a tomboy." She was so lost in her speech now that she didn't notice when he sat down beside her. "So I took all the money I've been saving since I was ten, cut my hair, bought boys clothes, and took a plane and two ferries all the way out here." She took a deep breath, "but it's still not enough. No matter what I do, I can't escape her shadow. She's called my cell seventy times since I left two days ago. I've been ignoring her calls. As far as I figure, I'll only escape her if I go to a place where she never existed at all. It must exist, right? Somewhere, up there in the stars?" She finally fell silent, hardly believing that she had bared her soul to a stranger, but she did feel better, even though she still wanted to leave.

He was quiet as he stared at her, his eyes filled with a quiet emotion that she thought might be understanding.

"Come with me," he said at last, standing and jumping from the dock, striding across the beach toward a small shack.

Confused, but feeling like she could trust this Mr. Stuart, she scrambled from the bridge and rushed after him, passing through the darkness of the shack and emerging onto a small cliff. They crossed a bridge where several trees grew, one of them a tree Stella had only heard stories about, it's pale trunk curved nearly horizontally, yellow star shaped fruit growing in between its lush fronds.

"Is this a Paopu tree?" she asked in disbelief as he pulled himself onto it, patting the trunk beside him. "Paopu fruit is so expensive. I can't believe it just grows in the open like this!"

"It's been here since before I was born, and will probably be here for years to come," he told her, smiling fondly, as if the tree held all of his most precious memories.

Sighing, he leaned back, staring at the sky. "You need a story."

"A story? How is that going to help me?" she had not joined him, her arms crossed over her chest as stared up at him. "I'm not a baby."

"This isn't a fairy tale, young lady" he told her, glancing at her from the corner of his eye, "even though it has a hero and a princess in it."

"Then what is it?" She felt her curiosity flare against her will.

"I'm not sure it really fits any decent stereotype," he admitted, "because it has a bit of everything. Monsters, epic battles, temptation, possession … even anthropomorphic animals."

"Talking animals? It sure _sounds _like a fairy tale…" she muttered.

He smirked, "yeah, I guess it kind of does."

"So, once upon a time…" she prompted, humoring him only because he had listened to her rant; she felt like she owed him _something_.

"Slow down there," he said, chuckling. "You don't need the hero's story. There's nothing you can learn from him. After all, he was a typical hero. Naïve, but with a brilliant sense of justice, who saved everyone and got the girl besides. No, you need to hear about his best friend."

"The hero's best friend?" she asked, sitting down at the base of the trunk and staring up at him. "Why, what's so special about him?"

"Well, he was a lot like you. His parents were in the midst of a particularly nasty divorce and his sister had turned into a delinquent and had landed herself in juvi. He felt stifled in his small world, this very island, and had ever since he was a small boy. He would have done _anything _to get out."

"He lived here?" she asked, feeling herself get caught up in the moment.

"Yes, on the smallest island, and he came out here to play with his two best friends everyday. He didn't know that he actually had the power to leave until it was too late, and even then he didn't care. He didn't mind that he'd left until he'd lost everything he'd ever loved, and then it was almost too late," he was staring back out at the ocean now, his hands folded in his lap.

When she didn't respond, he took a breath, "Once upon a time, in a place called the Destiny Islands, there lived a boy called Riku L'Belle…"

S-2011-S

_A/n: _Welcome to '_Darkness over Earthfall,'_ the Riku p.o.v. Kingdom Hearts. I'm sure there must be more than one of these in a fandom this large, but I aim to write something fresh and unique, in case you can't tell from the prologue.

I'm one of those 'long chapter, slow update' authors, even though this story wouldn't suggest it thus far. I'm not expecting a flood of reviews, but if you find this even slightly interesting, I would appreciate your feedback.


	2. Chapter 2

Darkness over Earthfall

Chapter 1

Riku woke to the sound of pots and pans banging against one another.

At first it disoriented him, but then he remembered that he was sleeping on Sora's floor, as he had been more often than not lately. Down in the kitchen he could hear Sora's parents speaking in muted tones, though he couldn't discern what they were saying through the floor. Their laughter and playful banter opened a rift in his chest, but he pushed those thoughts from his mind and rolled onto his back.

Sora's snores shifted through the stuffy silence, and Riku sighed, unable to drift back to sleep with dawn light filtering through his best friend's sheer blue curtains. Pushing himself up with ease, Riku ran his hands through his mass of hair and sighed. Careful to avoid the noisy floorboards, he crept from the room, the wood cold against his feet. Riku suppressed a shiver and descended the stairs, quiet in the muffled stillness of morning.

Sora's bedraggled father looked up from over the paper on the well loved table when he sensed Riku standing in the doorway. It was no secret that the Sturgon's were poor, but the boy could see the contentedness in Tetsuya's true blue eyes.

The balding fisherman had a large, graying black beard and didn't look like Sora at all, except for those eyes. He was broad in the shoulders and barrel-chested but had a gentle way about him that Riku had always liked. Now, he cast his son's best friend a toothy smile and patted the chair next to him with his bronzed and net-calloused hands. "Good morning, Ri."

Riku couldn't help but return the smile and sank into the chair, which creaked underneath his weight.

The Sturgon's kitchen was less than half the size of Riku's, but its outdated appliances had a used feel that the immaculate marble and stainless steel L'Belle kitchen could never imitate. It was cheery; its stucco walls painted sunshine yellow, its floor tiled with gaudy green and gold tile, scratched and dirty. Even the ugly wood cupboards, sagging underneath the weight of their contents, seemed happy in that kitchen.

Sora's mother hummed as she buzzed about the kitchen, basking in the radiance of the pale gold early morning sunshine.

One look at Sherry Sturgon's unkempt head of bark brown hair, slight frame, and naturally sun tanned skin, and Riku was reminded of his best friend. It was clear who'd had the dominant genes in the family, though Sora certainly had his father's gentle eyes, even if he had his mother's rowdy streak.

" I'm making you waffles and honey Dijon bacon, Riku dear," said Sherry as her warm brown eyes slid over him. "Wakka and Tidus' mothers called me to inform me that you have been spending most nights over at their places. They wondered if you were all right, and I didn't divulge details, but I _know _they can't cook and I figured you'd want a nice big breakfast. Boys can't survive on toaster pastries and boxed cereals alone, you know."

Riku smiled, though the look in Tetsuya's eyes made him think it was half-hearted. "How is your sister? Staying out of trouble?"

"Juvi," said Riku, "the trial was late last month. I didn't go." He stared at his hands, which sat neatly on his lap. "I couldn't watch my only sister get taken away in hand cuffs. I guess I just still see her as that same little girl she used to be."

Sherry frowned, "well, I don't blame you. You _know_ how I feel about your parents and what they did to that poor girl. They're lucky you're so mature and self-sufficient!"

"Sherry-"

Her indignant sniff cut Tetsuya off. "Well, I'm sorry Tetsuya, but they could be handling this divorce so much better. It's their fault that Nikata is going haywire; she's acting out because of them, and the worst thing is that poor Riku has to deal with the backlash!"

"Mom? Why are you yelling?" Sora stood at the kitchen threshold, rubbing his left eye with his knuckle, squinting into the sunlight.

He was wearing nothing but his plaid boxers and a ratty, graying oversized tee, his scrawny legs and arms looking like straw sticking form a burlap sack. His hair was even messier than usual, and his blue eyes were dazed, though they cleared quickly enough when he caught a whiff of the food. "Hey, breakfast!"

Riku laughed, "You're such a pig, Sora. Can't you ever stop eating?"

Sora made a face at his friend, but sat beside the older boy none-the-less, his posture more than a bit lacking. "You eat just as much as me!"

"But I don't guzzle my food, guppy," Riku smiled, "_and _I'm not a scrawny little scarecrow with baby pudge."

"I do _not _havebaby pudge!" protested the brunette.

"Oh yeah?" Riku goaded, reaching out to try and squeeze Sora's cheeks. "Then what's with the chipmunk cheeks?"

"Hey!" Sora swatted his hand away, but he was laughing. "I just have a round face, Riku, you know that!"

"Now boys," scolded Sherry, "mind your manners."

Swooping down, she placed an entire plate of steaming waffles on the table, followed by a heaping bowl of fluffy white and yellow scrambled eggs, a bowl of sausage patties and bacon, and homemade mango topping. The smell was tantalizing, amplified a thousand times by his hunger. Riku felt spoiled in a way he never felt by his parents, who always bought him the best of everything, but perhaps this was because the Sturgon's had so little to share.

"Thank you," Riku said, leaning automatically on his ingrained manners; Sherry beamed.

"Are you boys going out to the island today?" asked Tetsuya as he piled two waffles onto his plate and began to smother them with mango sauce.

"Yeah," Sora, going straight for the meat, quipped, all signs of tiredness vanished. "We're building a raft."

"Sora, honey, let our guest take some food first," said Sherry mindfully.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry, Riku," Sora handed him the bowl.

"A raft?" Tetsuya arched a single eyebrow in a questioning expression.

Riku spoke before Sora could say anything stupid, like what they actually wanted to use the raft for. "Yeah. Sora, Kairi and I were talking and we want to sail around the island, see what's on the others side of those cliffs. I bought some books on the subject and have done all the calculations. It's almost done." Riku had always been a smooth liar, which was helpful, because Sora was an open book; thankfully, he was too distracted by his food to correct Riku. "We should finish in a couple of days, actually, provided _someone_," he poked Sora in the arm, "pulls his weight."

"Hey!" protested Sora, mouth full of food. "I work hard!"

"Sora, manners," said Sherry; Sora quickly closed his mouth.

"You should be careful," Tetsuya advised in the voice of a seasoned sailor. "There's a storm coming in. Should be here in a few days."

"Don't worry, Dad!" Sora said, careful to swallow this time. "We'll be fine."

"I'm sure you will be," Tetsuya agreed. "Just a bit of fisherman's wisdom, kiddo."

They finished quickly, and Sherry shooed them, insisting they head out to the islet as soon as possible to finish their 'big project.' She promised she'd have lunch and a snack in a cooler for them when they came down.

Riku took the stairs two at a time, Sora only a few steps behind him. "You really think we'll finish it that soon, Riku?"

"Would I have said so if I didn't?" Riku opened the door to Sora's room. "We'll get done, and then we can finally leave."

"I can't wait! We're going to go on a real adventure this time, just like we promised!" Sora exclaimed, though Riku knew that was really only his sense of curiosity speaking.

If he hadn't mentioned anything, Sora and Kairi would have been content to spend the rest of their days playing pretend games on the little island. It was Riku who was their plan's author and finisher. He was the one who wanted to escape the Destiny Archipelago more than anything; not that Riku wasn't grateful for their company. He, Sora, and Kairi were best friends, and Riku couldn't see anything ever driving the three of them apart.

It didn't take long for the boys to pull on their clothing and head downstairs, even with Sora in a headlock.

Everything Riku would need was already on the island, he had been stowing items away for months already, including the toy swords he and Sora had made when he was seven. The only thing they'd need to carry to the island today was the Sturgon's old cooler, which wouldn't be _that_ terribly heavy, even loaded with their lunches and ice.

"Take care, boys!" called Sherry as they stepped out of the doorway and into the sun, leaving the small, sun-faded home behind them. "Have fun! I love you!"

"We love you, too, Mom!" Sora said, walking backwards down the hill and waving wildly. "See you later tonight!"

Sora continued to walk backwards, placing his arms behind his head as Riku held the small cooler by it's handle. "you're staying over again tonight, right, Riku?"

"Yeah, but only tonight. I'd better head home tomorrow. Mother may start to worry if I don't, think I ran away, and call the cops again."

_That_ had been a fun situation. Riku could still remember his father's livid face at his 'acting out', and his mother's frightened sobs.

"That sucks," Sora muttered. "I mean, that you have to go home." He frowned, "I wish I could do something to help you."

"You are," said Riku, grinning and shoving the cooler into his best friend's open chest, causing the boy to stumble backwards in order to take it. "You're helping me carry the cooler!"

Like a shot, he took off down the hill at a sprint, aware of Sora's yelling over his laughter and the sound of the wind rushing in his ears. The boy jumped a fence and continued to run toward the docks, not surprised to see Sora struggling to keep up with him, cooler clasped in his hand. He stopped only when he reached the shore, staring out at the water, pale blue in the early afternoon hours.

He stood and stared at the gently lapping waves until a finger jabbed in between his shoulder blades, alerting him to Kairi's presence. She was grinning up at him like a cat about to play fatal games with a mouse. "You're out here late."

"I ate breakfast with Sora's family this morning," he told her, waving as he headed toward his row boat. "I'll meet you two out there!"

It took him about ten minutes to row out to the island that day.

It was an easy trip, for the water was particularly calm, no signs of Tetsuya's ominous storm on the horizon.

Tying his boat to the dock, he jumped down onto the sand and surveyed the landscape of the tiny island. It had the same dips and falls, palms and beaches he had known his entire life. Nothing had changed in the last fifteen (almost sixteen) years, and nothing ever would. The familiar longing to see something, _anything_, other than this place filled his heart, but he temporarily quashed it; it was more important to focus on building his raft. After all, it was the modus operandi to accomplishing his dream.

Riku made his way across the sands, jogging at a steady pace until he reached a small grouping of low growing plants from which he pulled a large, padlocked, chest. He took the key from his right pants pocket and removed his saw, his pocket knife (which he stuck in his belt), and the old doctor's bag that held all other manor of building supplies, re-locking and replacing the box.

"Hey, you two!" he called across the beach after he stood, waving his friends over.

It didn't take long before Sora stood in front of him, Kairi only a little ways behind. He dropped the cooler next to the bushes, where it would be in the shade, in an attempt to stop the ice inside from melting too quickly. "Glad you could make it, slow poke Sora. Come on."

Kairi placed herself in between them even as Riku opened the door to their "secret" cove, passing through the entrance as if she owned it. Riku could see Sora gawking at her. He smirked, reminding himself to mention it to Sora later; maybe he could get a reaction out of the younger boy.

"So," Kairi began once they were all on the other side of the wall, linking each one of her arms through one of Riku's and one of Sora's, "what's the plan for today?"

"I'm going to make the mast while you two get the materials for the sail. I know what we need is somewhere on this rock. Still have that list I made you, Sora?" asked Riku, knowing full well that his friend had given it to Kairi.

"Uh..."

"I have it!" volunteered the girl, coming to Sora's rescue, her eyes glowing with mischief, as if she knew exactly what Riku had been thinking.

But before she could act on her impulses, Riku saw his raft, and forsook all banter for his work.

Underneath the sun, Riku quickly lost track of time as he buried himself in the careful work of cutting, shaping, and fitting the mast into the raft.

He was the sort of guy who liked to have something to do with his hands, and the raft was the ultimate in pet projects. It provided him with a way to burn though his bottomless energy, pent up inside of him as a result of being stuck in the middle of nowhere. Even the calculations he'd had to do to determine the raft's approximate size to be able to carry three people and a sizable amount of supplies had provided him with something to do during those long nights at home before summer had come.

Interestingly enough, the idea for the raft had come from a book where a boy and an escaped slave had set off down a mighty river and had found adventure a long the way. It was a book Riku had been forced to read in Sophomore English, and he had hated every moment of it, but the idea of the raft had haunted him. _Finally_, he'd had his answer, the means to escape his limited world...

"Have you seen Sora?" asked Kairi suddenly, and Riku looked up, surprised to see the sun already at its midway point.

"Uh, no," Riku leaned back, clutching a piece of sandpaper in his hand. "He's probably off snoozing on the beach. Better go get him." Riku stood, dusting sawdust and sand off of his pants. "It's time for lunch anyway. Why don't you go ahead, I'll-" Riku sighed when he heard to door to the cove slam; she was already gone, "- pack up. Yeah. Right."

There were two things that fueled Riku's burning desire to leave that island.

The first was Kairi.

Unlike the rest of them, she hadn't been born here. She'd suddenly appeared after a meteor storm, when a shower of stars fell like rain through the inky blue of the night sky. That wasn't the first time Riku had thought of leaving the island, but hearing about her sudden appearance had given him the hope he needed that there really was something out beyond that expanse of boring blue.

The second...

Well, that was a bit more complicated.

Riku carefully put away all his supplies, deeming the mast good enough. He would fit it after lunch, and then he, Sora and Kairi would mess around until sunset, when they would sit on the Paopu tree and talk about what they talked about everyday - leaving the islands.

"- What are you doing down here? Sleeping?" Riku brushed his hands together as he neared his two friends, who were sitting on the beach staring into one another's eyes.

Sora had a dazed look on his face, as if he had just woken from a dream; the sand in his hair reinforced Riku's suspicions. Kairi, on the other hand, was grinning ear to ear, and looked quite pleased with herself. "Honestly, I don't know why I put up with you," Riku rolled his eyes playfully, placing his hands on his hips in a stern manor. "You don't pull your weight and spend half your time sleeping on the beach!"

"I'm sorry Riku," Sora said insincerely, springing to his feet. "How's about I make it up to you by looking for more supplies?"

Riku gave a long-suffering sigh, shaking his head, "I guess that's all you can do now, Sora. I've already finished building the body of the raft. All I need now is rope and a sail, but I don't know where you're going to find that on _this_ island."

"I can do it!" Sora clenched his fists together, his eyes glinting as he ran off down the beach, toward the distant forms of their childhood friends. "It'll only take a moment!" He called back to them, waving and almost running into one of the palm dotted the island.

Kairi giggled at him, "I guess he's finally going to work."

"What are you talking about?" He arched an eyebrow at her, though he had to keep his lips from twitching into a smile. "You're as bad as he is."

She giggled, leaning toward him, her hands clutched behind her back, "So you did notice!"

They stared at each other for a moment before a smile bloomed on her lips and she took off across the beach, chasing after Sora. Riku shook his head once more and meandered over to a small island that the Paopu Tree called home, hoisting himself up onto the horizontal trunk with ease.

He stared into the depths of the water for what seemed like an eternity, barely aware when Kairi and Sora came to sit next to him, carrying the cooler with them. They were talking loudly about something, but Riku wasn't listening to them. Instead, he was staring out into the water and daydreaming about another world, a world without a vast ocean, and ripe with the tall, needled trees he had seen pictures of in books. He wondered what it would be like to taste wind that was cool and earthy instead of warm and tropical, or to swim in a lake, a body of water that wouldn't sting his eyes with salt...

"Riku, you hoo!"

Riku blinked at Sora's hand, which was vigorously waving a sandwich in his face. Shaking his head free of the phantom visions, Riku took the very material sandwich and unwrapped it. "Sorry, I was-"

"We know!" said Sora and Kairi at the same time, and Riku rolled his eyes.

"So, what's high school like?" Kairi asked as Riku took a bite of the sandwich; it was ham, one of his favorites. "You promised to give us the scoop, but you've been too busy with your raft."

"I don't know," Riku shrugged. "It's a lot like junior high, except that the classes are farther apart and you have more freedom about what you take for classes. Oh, and the uniforms are better, I guess. You'll like the plaid on the skirts."

"Meet any hot girls?" Sora asked out of the blue, and Kairi slapped him. Sora rubbed the top of his head and muttered a half-hearted, "Ow!"

Riku laughed, "Yeah, one or two."

"Don't encourage him," Kairi scolded.

"Encourage what, Kairi? We _are_ allowed to look at girls beside you, you know," Riku rolled his eyes at her once more when she stuck her tongue out at him. "It doesn't matter, though. The girl I like is currently unavailable," he said, which he supposed wasn't too far from the truth.

"Who is she?" Kairi asked, suddenly interested; Sora groaned.

"Come on, Kairi! Just a few minutes ago you slapped me for asking about cute girls! You can't possibly want to know who he likes _now_!" complained the younger boy, and Kairi glared at him.

"You'll have to guess, because I'm not going to tell you," said Riku, just to get on Kairi's nerves; it was always this way with them. "Hey, can I have one of those sodas?"

"Sure," Sora threw Riku one of the grape sodas, knowing full well it was his favorite.

"Thanks, buddy," he caught the soda effortlessly in his right hand, pulling it in toward his body with an ease he almost didn't know he possessed.

"Riku!" Kairi moaned, leaning forward to stare him in the eyes. "Tell me, Riku!"

Riku shook his head and sighed, "You'll figure it out soon enough, Kairi."

"So, what's on the agenda for the rest of today?" Sora asked, interrupting their conversation.

"I don't know. I guess we just screw around until before supper. That's a couple more hours, right?" Riku shrugged. "It's not like we have anything better to do. It's summer."

"You say that during the school year, too," said Kairi.

"Well, it's true," Riku said, "anyway, it's not like we can do much more until tomorrow. I'll finish the sail and mast on the raft, you two can gather the rest of the provisions, and we'll set sail the next day."  
>Sora sprang to his feet, jumping from the Paopu tree. "This'll be great! The three of us, off on a grand adventure. Just you wait!"<p>

Kairi laughed at him, but Riku just shook his head and stood, pulling his wooden sword from where Sora had placed it on the ground, probably earlier that day. It was odd, because looking at that wooden blade he almost felt a power flow through body, tingling down his spine. "Hey, Sora, let's fight. This one decides the champ."

"You're on!" Sora almost tripped getting his own sword, and Riku chuckled, drawing back into a staggered stance, his left side leading while his right side trailed.

Sora fell into a crouch, a grin on his face as he launched himself at Riku, who side-stepped the blow, laughing as Sora spun at him again. Pure brutal offensives had always been Sora's thing, he lacked finesse, but that was Sora.

This time, Riku blocked the blow, pushing outward with his body and causing Sora to stumble, his arms flailing as he fought to regain his balance. Riku, ever the opportunist, took the chance to launch his own offensive. It only took a moment for Riku to pivot out of his stance and launch himself at Sora, who tried to turn the momentum he had gained in nearly falling backwards to his advantage and channeled his energies into a single, knock-down strike. Riku, however, was prepared for this, parried the blow, ran past Sora and up the trunk of a palm tree. Using the tree as a springboard, he spun in midair, bringing his sword down upon Sora's and knocking it out of his hands.

It spiraled through the air several times before landing neatly at Kairi's feet.

"You still don't got it," said Riku, smirking as he leaned back down against the trunk of the Paopu tree. "Call me when you've gotten a bit better, okay Sora?"

" How did you do that?" Sora fumed, scrambling to his feet. "I've never seen you do _that_ before!"

"Ah, you're just sour cause I won again," Riku walked forward and ruffled Sora's hair, despite the smaller boy's protests. "What's the score now? Let's see, isn't it 78 to 3?"

" Nuh-uh! You do not have 78, you only have 68, _counting_ this time!" protested the red-faced Sora.

"What does it matter? I'm still winning, guppy," Riku walked away and sat on the Paopu tree again, leaning his head back and staring at the vast sky.

"Well, I'll show you! I'll beat you yet!"

"_Sure_ you will," but Sora was already gone, and Kairi with him.

The rest of the day went quickly, and before Riku knew it he and Sora were back on the main island, walking up the hill toward Sora's house. Kairi had decided to walk home with Selphie, and Tidus, as usual, was tailing Wakka, so Riku and Sora were completely alone, except for the gulls.

Sora strolled along, his hands behind his head, smiling widely, "I beat Wakka, though. That blitzball ain't so bad." He said, glancing at Riku from the corner of his eye.

Riku was carrying the cooler over one shoulder and hadn't been very conversational. "We're going back after supper, right?"

"Yeah," said Sora, "don't we always?" He paused. "Hey, Riku, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he told Sora seriously. "I'm just not looking forward to going home tomorrow." Riku shrugged. "It'll be all right, though. It's just one day, just so mother knows that I haven't gone missing."

Sora chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully. "Hey, what about our parents? Won't they wonder where we're going? I know you told me and Kairi not to tell, but don't you think they'll freak out when they find out we're gone? I mean, it's not like we'll be gone forever, but ..."

Riku couldn't tell Sora that they _were_ going to be gone forever; if he did, Sora and Kairi would never come with him, and then he would be all alone.

"It's just for a little while, Sora," said Riku. "Sure, they'll be mad at us when we get back, but it's not like we haven't been grounded before." He shuffled his feet. "It'll turn out all right."

Sora nodded, "Yeah... Say, do you think we could come back _after_ school starts? I kind of want to miss as much of it as possible."

Riku laughed at Sora, "Not a problem. I had planned on it."

The two boys laughed, and the topic of conversation returned to girls. Before long, they were at the Sturgon's house, where Sherry was already busy in the kitchen. It appeared as though they had beat Tetsuya home, because there was no sign of the fisherman.

"Oh, hello, boys. How was the island?" asked Sherry, chopping some vegetables at the counter; she looked up at them from over her shoulder.

"Same as ever," said Riku at the same time Sora said, " It was okay."

"That's nice," she said noncommittally "Will you boy's set the table and help with dishes, please?"

"Of course," said Riku, going to a cabinet to grab them; Sora grumbled but did as he was told.

It was quiet except for the clinking of dishes for awhile, until at last the silence was broken by the screen door slamming open as Tetsuya finally arrived home. "Sherry, Armand L'Belle has come back to the island!" he bellowed, apparently unaware that Riku stood in the kitchen, drying the dishes while Sora washed. "I saw him at the pier. I can't believe he would come back here after everything he's put his kids through. He better hope he doesn't run into me, or I'll-"

Sherry cleared her throat, and Tetsuya's eyes finally fell upon the boys.

Riku stared at him blankly, "He's back? From Thallasa?" To be honest, he didn't know how he felt about his father having returned, although he did know that Mizuno L'Belle must be going crazy. "He must be trying to convince mother to sign the divorce papers again." More quietly he added, "Thanks, Mr. Sturgon."

Tetsuya blinked at him, but nodded, "I'm sorry, Riku. I didn't realize you were here yet."

"It's all right," Riku shrugged as he hung up the towel on the stove. "I've heard worse things said about my father."

"Why don't we eat now?" said Sherry, wiping her hands on her apron. "The food's all done."

Riku sat down and Sora sat next to him as Sherry placed her pot roast on the table, bustling around to gather her side dishes. Soon, Riku was heaping mashed potatoes and gravy on his plate as Sora went on about their day on the island and their progress on the raft. Riku tuned out their conversation, his mind on the subject of his father, whom he hadn't seen in over a year now. Would he be staying in a hotel, or would he force his way into the L'Belle home?

"- Isn't that right, Riku?"

Riku shook his head and looked at Sora, blinking twice and then nodding, "Yeah."

The Sturgon's all stared at him, identical looks of concern etched on their faces.

"Do you need me to take you home tonight, Riku?" asked Tetsuya, his true blue eyes piercing Riku.

Riku hesitated before he nodded, "I think it's best. I don't know what mother will do if I'm not there. I'm worried." He looked to Sora, "But we're going back to the island first."

"Well, I made cookies for desert, so you should take some over to Mizuno," said Sherry, though she'd been complaining about Mizuno's parenting earlier that day, "I know she likes the oatmeal raisin."

"I will, Mrs. Sturgon," said Riku. "Thank you."

They quickly finished eating, and Sherry excused them to go back to the island, assuring them that her husband was enough help to do the dishes.

It wasn't long before the three friends once again sat on the Paopu tree, this time staring out at the crimson-dyed ocean. Riku leaned against the vertical part of the trunk, his arms crossed over his chest, Sora and Kairi both babbling on about something.

"Do you think we'll actually find another world out there on the other side of the ocean?" asked Sora suddenly, gazing at the distant horizon, a desire for adventure in his eyes. "I wonder if it's anything like this one?"

"We won't know until we get there, I suppose," said Riku with a shrug. "But anything has gotta be better than this."

"What do you mean?" asked Kairi, furrowing her brow.

"Well, our world is so small. If there are other worlds out there, why were we born on this one? Aren't we a part of something much bigger?" He motioned out at the horizon. "Look at that, beyond that, somewhere, is the world Kairi was born on. It's the world we're gonna find."

"You sure have put a lot of thought into this, haven't you, Riku?" asked Kairi, giving him a meaningful look.

"I owe it all to you," said Riku. "If you hadn't come here, I may have spent my entire life here."

"This is gonna be awesome!" Sora jumped up. "We're going to find Kairi's home! Maybe we'll even meet someone you know!"

"I told you," said Kairi, shaking her head, "I don't remember it."

"It doesn't matter if you can remember it or not," Riku shook his head. "It's your home."

"No, _this_ is my home," she looked around at the sky, the sea, and the sands. "I've been here since I was four years old, Riku. The mayor is my father, and his wife is my mother, and I grew up here. It's the only home I've ever known."

Riku could have argued that she had once had a family on her old world, too, but it was getting late, and he didn't feel like breaching the subject. "I have to get going back to Sora's house so Tetsuya can drive me home. I'll see you guys later," he jumped from the tree trunk, but before he did an idea struck him, and he plucked a single, yellow, star-shaped Paopu fruit from in between the tree's leafy fronds.

"Yeah, you're right," said Sora in response, standing to go. "I should go with you or Mom'll wonder where I'm staying."

"Hey, Sora," said Riku, tossing the fruit his friend's way. "You gonna share a Paopu with Kairi?"

"W-what?" Sora asked, despite the fact that every Destiny Archipelago native knew of the rumored mystical nature of the Paopu; it was one of the reasons the fruits were so expensive.

"They say that if you share one with someone you care about, an unbreakable bond will be formed and you'll find each other again, even if destiny itself separates you," explained Riku. "Are you gonna share it with Kairi? Cause if not, than I'm going to."

Sora turned the very shade of red that Riku had been hoping for, a shade of red that almost matched the fire-engine red of his jumper. Laughing, Riku ruffled his best friend's hair, "Relax, guppy, I'm just joking."

"It's not funny!" sputtered the embarrassed Sora, tossing the Paopu fruit over the side of the bridge and swatting at his best friend.

Riku dodged him and took off, still laughing, Sora dashing off after him, shouting something about Riku being a jerk. Riku simply turned his head around, smiling and waving at his friend as he ran toward their row boats. He could see Kairi jogging after them, her face pink with laughter.

They were all happy, carefree, like they had been when they were younger and the small island had been big enough for their imaginations to carry them to other worlds. It was at moments like these that Riku almost thought the Destiny Islands could be enough for him, but then he remembered what waited for him beyond that horizon, and knew that this closed world would never be enough.

Intermission

The largest, whitest house on the biggest hill on the island was dark and quiet when Riku opened the door, but the expensive, new car in the immaculately paved driveway alerted him to his father's presence.

Sighing, he removed his shoes and placed them on the rug, shutting the door quietly behind him and walking across the abandoned foyer to the den, the smallest hint of light visible from underneath the door.

Stepping over the threshold, he found his mother lying on the daybed, a glass dangling from her hand, wine bottles littering the floor. She was wearing a faded and ripped cocktail dress, her makeup smudged, her eyes red, and her long, black hair matted and dull. She wasn't the woman he remembered growing up, vibrant and strong, now she was as faded as her dress, and as fragile as the glass that dangled precariously from her fingers.

"Mother," he said softly, making his presence known.

Her eyes slid over him, and for a moment she smiled, though it was a weary smile. "My dear, sweet, Riku, you're home. Were you at Sora's? Sherry called and said-"

"Yes, mother," he replied, holding out the Tupperware of cookies that he held in his hands. "She sent these home for you. Oatmeal raisin. She knows that you like them."

Mizuno looked shocked, as if that one, small act of kindness would make her cry, "Tell her thank you when you see her again, will you, Riku dear?"

"Of course,"

He paused, waiting for her to say something about his father.

"You know," she began, "Armand is back. He's upstairs right now, unpacking his things. He said... He said that he'd be staying for awhile, that-" she choked on her words, and Riku cleared away the bottles, kneeling by her side and taking her hand. "He said he was going to take you from me!" she bawled, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder. "He thinks that Nikata getting sent to the Juvenile Detention Center is my fault, and he doesn't want me to ruin you, so... He wants you to go live him in Thallasa, attend one of the big schools there in fall, and -" she choked. "He says I'll never see you again. Riku, I can't lose you, too! I can't!"

He held her, realizing how small his mother was. She felt breakable in his arms, as if he could crush her if he squeezed her too hard. He wondered when she had become so frail, or when he had become so large. It seemed just yesterday he was five years old, and she was holding his hand as she dropped him off at school for the very first time.

"I won't go, Mother," he told her. "He'll have to win a court battle to get me, and if you don't sign the papers then he can't take me away."

Her sobs began to subside, "Y-yes, that's right. I just won't sign the papers. I won't sign the papers. Thank you, baby boy..."

Aware of eyes on his back, Riku looked up to see his father hovering over the threshold, his dark gray eyes piercing Riku, his face drawn into a tight-lipped frown. Riku stood, striding over to him with a confidence that he did not feel, "Listen, if we're going to argue, let's do it outside. She needs her rest, and I don't want to put her through any more than she's already been through since Nikata was arrested."

Armand L'Belle nodded stiffly and lead the way from the room.

He was a man of medium build, though Riku himself was tall for his age and particularly well built. He had a sort of effortless aura of calm about him that Riku possessed, and dark brown hair and gray eyes that Riku did not. In fact, Riku did not look like either of his parents with his pale (Riku refused to admit it was silver, though it was) hair and blue-green eyes, but he certainly shared his father's stubborn streak.

"Why did you tell her not to sign the papers?" asked Armand in a soft voice as they stepped into a guest room; Riku closed the door. "Don't you realize that she's the one who caused Nikata's erratic behavior, Riku? You can't possible want to stay here, to take care of her."

"She wasn't always like this, you know," Riku replied coolly. "Once upon a time, she was different. It wasn't until you moved out and started making demands that she broke and completely lost her mind, Father."

" She had an _affair_," hissed Armand, turning his back on his son to look out the window. "What was I supposed to do? Live with it?"

"You left, and it tore Mother and Nikata apart," Riku sat on the bed and stared at the mirror. "It doesn't matter if her actions drove you away, you could have at least stayed on the island. But you didn't. You left, and mother lost it, and Nikata tried to forget by burying herself in drugs and booze. So don't just blame this on her. You have a part in it, too."

"So you want to stay, is that what you're saying?" asked Armand in a voice that was too calm to be true, and Riku felt his father's intense eyes boring into his back.

"No," said Riku, "but I don't want to go with you, either, to leave my friends behind." He took a deep breath. "You can't expect me to take sides, Father, it's not fair of you. You're both my parents. Why do you think I'm never at home anymore?"

" You leave her by _herself_, Riku?" Armand's hand fell upon his shoulder, and Riku turned around, meeting his Father's angry eyes. "Don't you know she's _suicidal_? That she could take her own life at _any moment_?"

Riku shrugged away from Armand's touch, "Yeah, well, if you care about her so much then why don't you move back in and try to get past the affair instead of giving up after _17 years_ of marriage? Don't make me take responsibility for her, _Father,_ when you're the one who freaking broke her in the first place!" He took a deep breath and stood. "I'm _15_! Do you think I should take care of her? Of the house? Besides, you're the one who wants to take me _away_ from her! What's she going to do then, huh? Or won't it be your _problem_ anymore once you win custody of Nikata and me and move us off to Thallasa?"

Armand looked stricken, "Riku-"

"No. No, Father, I've had enough. I'm done with this conversation, and I'm done with you!" He turned away and slammed the door behind him, storming from the house to run full speed down the road, feeling his anger replaced slowly with the familiar desire to leave the islands for good.

If he left, if he were gone, then there would be no Armand, no Nikata, and no Mizuno. He could find his purpose beyond the confines of caring for a mentally unstable mother, or watching over a delinquent sister. There would be no more arguments, no more running out, no more talk of divorce or court battles. It would all be over, and it would be just Riku, Sora, Kairi, and the eternal expanse of sky, sailing to another world, a world where none of this could ever reach him again.

Slowing to a walk, Riku realized he could not go home, and decided to take his boat out to the island and sleep on the raft, even though the last rays of waning sun were just now disappearing beyond the western horizon.

The sun had long set when he at last docked his boat and made his way to the cove where the raft sat, but he decided at the last moment to sleep in the secret place instead. Though nights in the Destiny Archipelago were certainly not cold by any means, there would be no chilling breeze in the darkness of the cave. Securing his flashlight and a blanket from his supply chest, Riku crawled through the narrow crawl space that housed his, Sora's and Kairi's childhood drawings, and, of course, the door.

The door had been there for as long as Riku could remember, but it had no handle or knob, and appeared for all the world to not even had hinges. Riku had tried to open it many times before, but had never succeeded, which was bizarre because it was a simple wooden arch attached to the wall. This door was one of the things that made Riku believe in the existence of other worlds, because, no matter what Sora or anyone else said, he had seen a keyhole there before, on the door. As best as Riku could figure, if a door had a keyhole it had to be able to be unlocked, and once it was unlocked it had to lead somewhere. The problem was unlocking it.

As he emerged into the dimly lit grotto, the barest hint of moonlight shining down on him from the opening in the ceiling, he was shocked to see a shadowy form lurking in the farthest corner.

"Who are you?" he growled, and the lumbering form turned to face him, staring at him from beneath the folds of a giant brown cloak.

"I am The Seeker of Darkness," he replied in a smooth voice. "Tell me, boy, do you see it? The Keyhole to the Door of this World?"

Riku's eyes automatically strayed to the wooden arch, finding there the gaping impression of a black keyhole rimmed in the faintest halo of white. "What do you know about the keyhole?" Riku demanded, turning his eyes back to the form.

" Ah, so you _do_ see it," crooned the man. "I thought you might. You see, _you_ have the power to open the Door. All you need to do is believe."

"What are you talking about?" Riku maintained his distance from the man. "I've tried to open this door hundreds, maybe even thousands, of times, but I've never been able to. Believe me, if I could unlock this door, I would have."

"You've been trying to pry it open using pure brawn," said the figure in way of explanation. "No, the Key to opening the Door is your Heart. You are a Keeper, Chosen, are you not?"

Eyes widening, Riku flashed back to a day long ago, when he had been yet a child enjoying his first summer away from school. "How did you know about that? He said never to tell anyone, and I never have!" Riku calmed himself and brushed a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath. "Besides, I stopped believing in magic long ago, old man."

The man laughed a resounding laugh, "So you remembered. He told you he would give you The Key, and he did. Why do you think you've always succeeded at everything you have tried? It is your destiny. You were born to leave this place, born to be the one to open this door."

"You really do think I can somehow open this door, don't you?" Riku asked. "I'm telling you- Wait a minute," Riku paused. "You said opening this door will let me leave this world? How?"

"The Corridors of Darkness lead many places," explained the man, a note of satisfaction in his voice that Riku chose to ignore. "If you open this door, it will open this world to the Darkness, which is able to take you anywhere you so desire, once you learn to use it."

"And how would I learn to use the Darkness?"

"That's easy," Riku could hear a smile on the man's lips, "you allow it into your heart. Do not turn from it's embrace, allow your will to dominate it, and it will take you where you wish."

"Okay then," Riku, forgetting his fear of the man, placed his hand against the door, "how do I open this door?"

"My dear boy, it is already done. Your belief in its ability to allow you to escape has opened it. Now all you need to is wait."

Riku turned around to ask the man how he knew the door was open, but there was a bright flash and the keyhole disappeared.

When the light from the flash finally faded, the man was gone.

_Author's Note:_

_A few disclaimers, other than the obvious._

_First of all, this is not a Soku. No matter what you interpret the interactions between Riku and Sora to be in this fic, I didn't intend to write them that way. If you want to read a Soku, you'll have to look for it elsewhere. _

_My second disclaimer revolves around the fact that this is a bit of an AU fiction, because I haven't completely followed the events/time line of the Kingdom Hearts universe when writing it. In other words, I've taken artistic liberty with the KH world, so if something isn't completely like how you remember it being in the game, that would be why._

_Other than that, I would just like to thank you for taking the time to read this story and hope you enjoy it. Please leave a review if you have the time. Though reviews aren't necessary bait to get me to continue writing this fiction, they are always appreciated._


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